I love having friends, acquaintances, the people more poor than myself… basically anyone … over to eat.

I think its the diluted strains of my Italian heritage asserting itself. However, unlike my fore-mothers; I do not have the luxury of being a stay-at-home wife with lots of time and resources to prepare complex meals and I have the complications of limited funds. How do I manage good, hearty food for the masses? Home cooking! In this case, homemade meatballs. Some ground beef, pork, diced onions, garlic and seasonings later… browned in the trusty cast iron! Open a ginormous can of tomatoes and put in my stock pot — an electric mixer and potato masher later leaves the tomatoes a great consistency for sauce. Add the browned meatballs and let it simmer for hours. Price? Perhaps a total of $10 – $15. Time? 1/2 hour needed for real work. The simmering is pretty much self-directed by my pot. Flexibility? TONS! The sauce & meatballs are now ready whenever! Spaghetti takes 10 – 20 minutes to boil while people are catching up, bringing dessert, and getting settled.